The transmission between generations is an important aspect in the development
of party identification. A party identification is a more affective and stable
loyalty towards a political party. This raises the question what mechanisms
lie behind the social inheritance of political orientations within the family.
To answer these questions, empirical data of the SOEP 2007 were taken which
showed that transmissions between parents and their children depend on whether
they emerge under divergent beliefs of parents. The more homogeneous they are,
the more likely they are also accepted by their offsprings. This dyadic
homogeneity can be classified according to their magnitude: mother-daughter,
mother-son, father-son, and finally father and daughter. The theoretical
distinction between party identification and party preference can also
empirically claim validity. Party preference corresponds to a broad definition
of party loyalty. From this reservoir of about 15% of the electorate could be
drawn. Conservative CDU/CSU-preferences were more often transmitted compared
to a preference for the more left wing SPD if both parents expressed the same
party preference. The consensus on policy issues turned out as an independent
dimension of intergenerational solidarity (eg, the emotional quality of the
relationship). Longitudinal analysis showed that after moving out of the
children the dyadic homogeneity remained relatively stable or only slightly
decreased over a period of seven years. Life cycle events that took place long
ago, like the death of a parent, can have a lasting effect on the consistency
of party identification with the remaining parent and his offspring. In
addition, path models were calculated allowing to model the complex dynamics
of social inheritance. The analysis within full three-generation households
showed that the intergenerational handing down of political orientations might
be partially blocked. But how do intergenerational relationships develop in
the future? It will be exciting to see whether global crises like climate
change and global economic crises that work across multiple generations could
bridge ideological differences and bring different dimensions of inter-
generational solidarity together (again).